KARL, aged around 30, is released from a Southern mental institution, "cured" after murdering a couple of people when he was twelve. Alone, inexperienced and regarded as a retard, he starts life in the outside world. He meets and befriends a young boy, Frank, who becomes the focus for a re-assessment of his past, and his future.

The film explores issues of isolation: Karl moves from solitary room to solitary room, very pointedly observing everything and everyone from the outside, touching but not holding the people he becomes close to. Thornton is intent on manipulating perceptions of the way people relate to each other. Scenes involving "real" families are dark and oppressive, while what appears to be a standard collection of hicks and rednecks turns out to contain philosophers, gays, and people capable of uncommon sensitivity towards each other.

Everything is just slightly off from what you would expect, which is what takes this film beyond a worthy, feel-good righting-of-wrongs to something a bit more interesting. The tension is marked from the beginning, and  is carefully built up with music, lighting, and a pervading sense of stillness. Some effort is required in suspension of disbelief: for a storyline which seems to be paced quite close to real time certain things don't pan out too well, and Karl's behaviour is initially as grating as a bad violin player. However, the film does allow you to sink into it, and its length and slowness work in its favour. Without providing any real twists, the plot challenges our expectations of how people's minds work. Watch out for a cameo role from Jim Jarmusch!